Ardor's Knight
by MadaraUchiha333
Summary: He came for her...and life...would never be the same...heheh dramaaaatic : Sorry summary is crappy, read though! xD GrimmxOC
1. Chapter 1

"Hurry up!" The arrancar snapped. "You're too slow!" His black eyes glared evilly at the young woman running after him.

"I'm sorry Yammy-Sama..." She whispered, tripping over her feet slightly and nearly dropping the towels she carried in her hands. "Please, forgive me..."

The white shirt and pants she wore were clean and snowy. It blended softly with her lavender hair and lilac-colored eyes. Her entire body was extremely petite as if she had been sized down from everybody else at the Hueco Mundo.

Yammy grunted without really acknowledging her and continued to stomp heavily down the hallway.

She trailed slowly, relishing the break from running around all the time. Then, she heard the loud, irritated shout from the main chambers.

"You! Girl!" Her eyes looking slightly confused, she looked over at the other arrancar yelling at her. "Come get this and take it to Shawlong!"

As fast as she could stumble over the cold floor with her bare feet, she took the rolled up piece of paper from the arrancar and stumbled off to find the elusive Shawlong.

Almost thirty minutes later, after wandering the huge building that housed the headquarters of the arrancars, she returned to the main chamber, and almost looked deplorable.

Shawlong and the other arrancar were standing in one corner, laughing loudly at the joke they had played on her. She sighed and walked weakly over to them. With sad eyes, she handed the paper to Shawlong and had scarcely turned around when somebody else called for her and sent her off to do something else.

Several hours later, the girl was on her last legs and ready to fall, when a softer, but more powerful voice sounded from a dark hallway.

"Adalia..." Her head turned and she seemed almost relieved to see the person standing there.

"Kaname-Sama..." She murmured gratefully.

"Come." He said bluntly. Adalia followed him into the darkness until they reached a black door.

"Lord Aizen would like to speak with you." He muttered, turning and disappearing down the dark hallway. Turning, Adalia closed her eyes and reached out a small hand to knock on the door.

It swung forwards on its hinges without any apparent touch. Inside, there was yet another long stone hallway.

Sighing, Adalia stumbled forwards.

"How pleasant of you to come, Adalia-chan." Aizen said with a sickeningly sweet smile. It reeked of fake sincerity. "Lately, I've noticed that some of my arrancar have been abusing their power over you. Truthfully, it saddens me. You have several useful talents that could help the cause...if only you were placed under the command of an Espada..." He appeared to genuinely be thinking about something.

Inside her head, Adalia was screaming at herself:

_"Not the Espada! They're even worse than the others! I'll be dead within a week!"_ When she had calmed down somewhat, she began to wonder if that was Aizen's plan.

"Would you be upset if I placed you under an Espada's command, I wonder?" Aizen said.

Adalia didn't move a muscle or even breathe for several seconds.

"I would be honored to have such an opportunity to help the cause, Lord Aizen." She murmured, bowing slightly.

"Very well..." Aizen replied, and turned away from her. "Espada Number Six. Report to me...immediately."

Images flashed behind her eyes swiftly. Number six? Which one was tha-

"What the hell do you want?" Roared an angry voice over the intercom. "I'm in the middle of training!"

"Grimmjow..." Aizen hissed. Adalia's heart almost stopped. "I said, now."

Mere seconds later, the black door slammed open and heavy footsteps could be heard coming closer.

"Dammit all!"

Grimmjow burst through the door frame and stood in front of Aizen with his arms folded and a deadly gleam in his eye.

His jet black pants were dirty and torn in several jackets, along with his bloody white jacket, opened fully to reveal his chest and collar turned up to reveal the black lining stained with layers of dried blood. The piece of bone across the right side of his jaw were the only remnants of his hollow mask and his teal blue hair was gelled out in every which direction. All around, he cut a terrifying figure in the air.

"Grimmjow Jeagerjacques, I have procured a subordinate for you." Aizen said, with a hint of deadly impatience behind his golden voice.

Slowly, the man turned his head, and glared at Adalia with a savage blue eye.

"You mean this?" He hissed carefully, jerking his thumb at Adalia. She inclined her head once slowly and said softly.

"I live to serve."

Quietly at first, but then rowdily, Grimmjow started to laugh.

"Ha Ha! This'll really piss off the others!" He turned and started to walk out of the room.

"Grimmjow!" Aizen called after the slowly retreating Espada. "She is not to be killed or injured! If she is, you will be punished for it!" The arrancar hissed but continued walking. "Adalia, I suggest you follow your new master. Or he may decide to punish you."

With wide eyes, she turned, and ran.

"Hurry up." Grimmjow growled. He had stopped and waited at the end of the hall. "You are to do exactly as I say and shadow me everywhere unless I say otherwise." His deep voice had the tiniest of accents. Some of his words slurred slightly and his 'r's were rolled so slimly it was almost invisible.

"Yes, Lord Jeagerjacques." She replied softly, bowing over her hands.

"Not bad." He said quietly, turning swiftly and walking in the other direction. Her bare feet barely made a sound as she ran after him, taking three steps for each of his.

"Grimmjow?" Kaname suddenly appeared leaning on the wall ahead. "You don't have permission to mobilize that Gillian."

"Get bent, Kaname. Why don't you ask Aizen about it?" with a smirk on his face, Grimmjow sauntered past the dark-skinned soul-reaper towards the hall where most of the arrancars spent their day.

"And my name is Adalia. Not _that Gillian_!" Adalia murmured as she followed Grimmjow past Kaname. "I'm not even a Gillian! I'm an arrancar!"

His mouth opened and he raised his hand as if to strike her, but then a look passed his face and he turned and stalked off.

"Hey, Tiny?" Grimmjow asked from ahead of her.

"Uh...Yes...?"

"You have a zanpakuto?"

"Yes, Lord Jeagerjacques." Her voice was quiet, but carried far in the hallway.

"Good. I'm not your protector."

As the two of them stopped in front of the door to the grand hall of Los Noches, Grimmjow glanced out of her out of the corner of his eye, and saw her staring bleakly at the floor.

"Stop that!" He barked. "Your _my _subordinate now! Stop sulking and act like it!"

Adalia's eyes widened at his words but she hadn't any time to register it in her mind as he kicked the doors open violently and strode into the room.

Quickly, she trotted after him. All the other arrancars and Gillians looked up as Grimmjow sat down in his usual spot and their old object of torture stood behind him, half of her face hidden in the shadows of an alcove.

"Hey!" The large Espada Yammy waddled over and stood in front of Grimmjow, who had somehow managed to coolly cross his legs and rest his elbows on his knees with a bored look on his face. "What're you doin' with our _little friend_?" He chuckled darkly and stared pointedly at Adalia.

"Hn?" Grimmjow swung his head around to stare at Adalia along with all of the others in the hall. She looked down at the floor, and Grimmjow's lip curled viciously.

"She's my subordinate." He said with a nearly mocking tone to his voice. "M'not really sure what she does yet..."

"She'll run if she wants to live!" Yammy cackled, slamming his fist into the wall where her head had been mere moments before. "Move, little girl!...Huh?"

Adalia was sitting back to back with Grimmjow, copying his exact position, even the bored masochistic look on his face.

Turning on his heel, Yammy roared and banged his hand down on top of her.

"Don't, Yammy-san." Adalia murmured, lounging around in front of Grimmjow. "Or I'll draw."

"San? You wench! You will address me as Sama! I am your superior!" He roared angrily. Smirking, Grimmjow shook his head.

"Actually, as a subordinate of the Espada Sexta, she is of higher rank than you now!"

"Yeah!" Adalia said angrily. "So don't come near me again you fat piece of lard!" Several other sniggered and Yammy turned white and stalked away after one more threatening glare at her.

She crossed her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue.

"Tiny. Stop it."

For several hours, Adalia flitted around Grimmjow like an excited bird let out of its cage. She chattered endlessly, and Grimmjow, unable to maim her, would make horrific threats that she seemed to blow off instantaneously like some kind of cutesy monster. The Espada was sure that Aizen had purposely given him the most cheerful, talkative, pig-headedly stubborn subordinate in all of the Hueco Mundo.

Adalia was at that moment humming some random tune from nowhere as she followed Grimmjow around. The marauding Espada was kicking and lashing out at anybody who passed within three feet of him, and was cussing loudly at Adalia.

"Ah! Don't you ever shut up? I swear you give me more fucking headaches than everybody else put together!"

"Sorry Captain!" She would chirp softly, and immediately recommence whatever she had started.

"And why the hell did you try to stick your hand through my hollow hole? Are you _fucking kidding me_? Ugh! I wish that Cuarto was around now, I'd kill him!"

"But...Ulquiorra can't be the Espada Sexta!" Adalia admonished, earning a cold chuckle and punch on the arm from Grimmjow.

"Ah, you crack me up though. You." He would bang his head on the wall for several minutes, laughing all the while, and then notice something and start off swearing again.

Aizen watched them argue in the hall sometimes. Yes...she was perfect for unlocking the true power of his most powerful weapon yet...Grimmjow.

"Yo! Get up!" Grimmjow kicked Adalia's bed right over onto its side, breaking its frame. "Good-for-nothing piece 'o..." His hiss trailed off, as Adalia's head poked up, her lilac eyes on fire.

"What was that, Captain?" She asked, tilting her head to the side innocently.

"Damn it all!" Grimmjow yelled. "I hate your eyes so goddamn much!" He shuddered and turned to walk out the room. "Hurry up!"

A minute later, he'd already reached the stairs when he heard her running up behind him.

"I still couldn't hear what you said to me!" She screeched. Grimmjow's eyes widened as he realized how close she was to him, and turned on a dime.

"I wasn't even fucking talking about you! Argh!" There was a massive crashing and explosion of sound as Adalia jumped onto his back and made him trip forwards and hit his forehead on the stairs. "Damn it! I'm gonna kill you!"

Adalia nearly cut off Stark's head as she ran screaming down the upper hallways, trying to escape Grimmjow, hot on her heels.

"Do I hear Grimmy's dulcet tones?" Mila Rose giggled sticking her head out of a door and promptly getting Grimmjow's fist in her face. "You bitch!" She screeched, running after the Espada.

"Shut up?" Gin offered tiredly.

Eventually, his wish was granted. Adalia started to falter, Grimmjow started to forget why his mad, and Mila Rose picked up speed as she noticed her quarry pause at the end of the next staircase. She tackled him. He remembered.

"Anyways, bye Grimmy!" She giggled, waving and running off.

"Stop calling me that." He hissed. "Hey, TINY!" His loud voice rose instantly to a roar, and she was there so fast it was almost scary.

"Reporting for duty, Captain!" She saluted and burst out in laughter. "Oh! What's that red mark on your forehead?"

Grimmjow snarled and grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her closer to him. He hissed right in her face and let her go.

"You'd better watch your back for a while. Or you might yourself falling off of Las Noches."

Adalia nodded and then turned her head to look behind her.

"Come and see what I found Captain!" She ran back the way she'd came and Grimmjow followed her lazily. What else did he have to do? "Where does this go?" He looked up and saw Adalia standing in front of a black door at the end of a short, empty hallway.

It took a few seconds for him to remember. The door hadn't been used by anybody for years.

"Uh...That goes to the roof of the tower." He tapped the doorknob, and it quivered, dust falling to the floor. "Nobody really goes there anymore."

"Can we check it out?" She asked excitedly, grabbing the handle and turning it gently to the left. The door creaked open, revealing a dust-covered, darkened hallway curving sharply upwards.

"I don't give a shit." Grimmjow muttered, following her as she darted up the stairs and ran towards the top of the stairs.

"It...won't open." When Adalia reached the summit, she pulled and banged on the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Get out of the way." Grimmjow pulled her behind him and kicked the door violently. It took even him three swift kicks before it's hinges cracked and fell down to the floor with a clang.

"Look at that..." Adalia gasped and ran out onto the circular platform that was the rooftop. Out in every direction was the silvery expanse of the Hueco Mundo. A ash-gray moon hung in the sky above, casting its fake light onto the sand.

She twirled around happily and threw out her arms on the railing to stop herself from falling. A huge smile was spread across her face.

"It's so...beautiful...Is this the Hueco Mundo?" Her head turned to look at Grimmjow, who was scowling out at the desert. He nodded silently and walked up beside her.

Out somewhere in the far-flung sands, a animalistic roar split the air. Adalia's eyes widened and she leaned out over the railing.

"Was that a...a...hollow?" She said the word slowly as if she'd forgotten what it was. Staring out, Grimmjow hissed softly:

"Yeah...it's sounds like a big one!" A smirk split his face. "It'd be good hunting!"

Slowly, Adalia turned until she was facing him. The expression on her face was both curious and a little sad.

"Hunting?"

"Hell yeah!" Grimmjow chuckled. "It's the only decent thing to do for fun around here!"

"How's it done?"

"You've _never _even heard of hollow baiting?" He asked incredulously. "That's insane! And you've never seen the Hueco Mundo?"

"Well...It seems so familiar, I just...can't remember much."

"...Well...To bait a powerful adjuchas, you need at least two Arrancar. One to be bait, and one to trap the hollow. If you get a good one, it's actually almost fun."

"Really?" Adalia tilted her head to the side. "How strong do the arrancars have to be?"

Grimmjow shrugged.

"Pretty decent." He saw Adalia's eyes fall, and felt a peculiar feeling...somewhere... "That's why, I'm gonna have to train you a bit before you come with me. I'll have to do it at one point, seeing as your gonna be in battles eventually."

Her eyes widened.

"Battles?" She let out a little laugh. "Dangerous ones?"

"It all depends on whether or not I'm feeling shitty."

"...Lord Jeagerjacques..."


	2. Chapter 2

"_...Well...To bait a powerful adjuchas, you need at least two Arrancar. One to be bait, and one to trap the hollow. If you get a good one, it's actually almost fun."_

_"Really?" Adalia tilted her head to the side. "How strong do the arrancars have to be?"_

_Grimmjow shrugged. _

_"Pretty decent." He saw Adalia's eyes fall, and felt a peculiar feeling...somewhere... "That's why, I'm gonna have to train you a bit before you come with me. I'll have to do it at one point, seeing as your gonna be in battles eventually."_

_Her eyes widened._

_"Battles?" She let out a little laugh. "Dangerous ones?"_

_"It all depends on whether or not I'm feeling shitty."_

_"...Lord Jeagerjacques..."_

* * *

_Several Months Pass_

_*_

"Grimmjow-sama!" Adalia giggled as she kicked open the door to his room in a rather familiar style. She had long since dropped Jeagerjacques-sama. Even for such a prideful person as he, Grimmjow was above such formalities with most people.

"What the fuck? Its four o'clock in the morning!"

"But...I brought you food." Adalia's lower lip trembled and Grimmjow shot up swearing.

"Fine then, get over here. Stop crying!"

Immediately Adalia smiled and ran over. She nearly tripped over a pile of clothes but regained her footing just in time by bending her knees and leaning forwards. The end result sort of resembled like she was making an offer to Grimmjow very formally, and he stared at her with a confused expression, then he smirked.

"Clumsy ditz."

"Its not my fault!" She squeaked as she put down the tray on the small table next to Grimmjow's bed and put her hands on her hips. "You're room is filthy!"

"Clean it."

"What?"

"I said _clean it_."

Grimmjow met her glare with his shocking blue eyes until he had stared her down. He chuckled and leaned back against the headboard with a cup in his hand, sipping lazily.

"Get going already!"

"Yes..._master_..." Adalia murmured with a tired look. She turned around briskly and then her mouth dropped.

There were bloody and muddy clothes thrown _all _over the room, swords and weapons strewn around, and she didn't even want to _look _at the adjoining bathroom. She paled and poked the closest pile of clothes with her foot.

"Have fun." Grimmjow chuckled. "Oh, and I'd get gloves if I were you."

Adalia grimaced and knelt down, bravely touching the mess with her hands.

Several long hours later, Adalia was exhausted and dirty. She weakly stood up and ignoring Grimmjow's taunting, she stumbled out into the hallway. He followed her with a smirk on his face and seemed almost evilly happy as he tailed her back to her room located amongst the rooms of the other subordinates.

Just as she rounded the corner of her hallway, there was a massive explosion that kicked up a huge dust cloud. Something jerked her backwards and back around the corner. At first, she thought it was Grimmjow, but then she saw him standing right in the center of the hallway, staring down through the rubble.

"Yammy?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. ""What're you doing all the way down here?" Adalia's eyes widened frightfully.

"No, no, NO!" She rounded the corner and dashed down the hallway, closing her eyes to the dust. Of course, with her eyes closed she couldn't see, and she ran straight into somebody.

Her eyes flashed open and she looked to the right where the room for her door...used...to be.

"Y-You...destroyed...my...room?" She whispered. Then, she exploded. She screamed and started punching Yammy, but of course she wasn't making any scratch on his hierro.

"All-" Punch. "-My-". Punch. "-Stuff-" Punch "-Was in there!" She screamed again and pulled on her hair. "And you ruined it!"

Yammy smirked at her and tossed her aside with his huge hand. Adalia's tiny body flew across the sharp, broken tiles and she only came to a stop because her back hit a giant rock. Blood spurted out of her mouth and seeped through her white clothes from her stomach.

Grimmjow's jaw tightened and he flexed his hands experimentally. He knew he would get reprimanded for attacking Yammy...punished for killing him...

"Teme." He growled low in his throat, earning a wide-eyed look from the other Espada.

"Huh? Grimmjow?" He started to laugh uproariously. "Is this _upsetting _you? You aren't getting attached, are you?"

An all-out animalistic snarl escaped Grimmjow and he cracked his knuckles.

Just then, Gin walked into view at the opposite end of the trashed hallway. His fox-like eyes surveyed the scene, lingered on the sight of Adalia bleeding on the ground, and Grimmjow's clenched fists.

"Good job, Grimmjow-kun." He chuckled. "It's wise _not _to kill Yammy, else Aizen-sama would be mad at you."

Yammy's eyes narrowed, and he blurred away using his sonido. It took a few tense seconds of deep breaths on Grimmjow's part before he started moving again. He put his hands in his pockets and stalked up to where Adalia lay on the floor.

She was starting to stir, and sat up, but she wouldn't meet Grimmjow's eyes. The expression on her face was half torn between pain and anger...and there seemed to be something else hidden in her eyes.

"Get up." He commanded roughly.

Immediately, she launched to her feet, but then immediately fell back down. She whispered words of pain under her breath, and tried again...and again.

After the sixth try, she rolled over onto her stomach and tried to push herself up onto her hands and knees. Her limbs shook. With slight surprise, Grimmjow saw a dark spot appear on the flagstone's and realized that it was a tear.

He glanced around, both seeing and feeling that Gin had left the area. Letting out an angry sigh, he knelt down and grabbed the back of her shirt with one hand. Slowly, he pulled her up into a standing position and looked at her with a questioning expression.

"Why the fuck did you do that, Tiny?" He murmured, to angry to yell at her. Adalia turned her head away when she felt her lip trembling and resisted when he tried to pull her face back to look at him. Finally, he pulled forcefully and she was forced to look at him.

"I-I...didn't w-want him to t-think I was w-weak!" She whispered, and looked away. "I'm sorry...I'm crying..." She added after a few seconds.

He opened his mouth to yell, but then he saw her legs trembling violently and looked at the bloody stain slowly spreading across her stomach.

"Come on." He muttered, and pulled her onto his back. "You're no use dead."

Adalia gasped softly. As Grimmjow made sure she wouldn't fall off, and then started running at an unnatural speed, she slowly buried her eyes in his shoulder and sobbed. Even with the screeching wind in his ears, Grimmjow could still hear her, and it was making his anger boil over.

_"WHY? Why did I get so fucking angry when he hit her? This isn't right...I'm supposed to be the tough one! Could...she be...getting to my head? Fuck! I don't have time for this! I need to train so that I can beat Cuatro...instead I'm stuck protecting Tiny..." _He shook his head. _"Fuck it! Stop calling her Tiny!" _

"Grimmjow-sama...?" Asked Adalia in the quietest of whispers. "...I'm sorry that I'm...so weak." She grasped the back of his shirt in a fist and squeezed it. "I promise you that-...I'll get stronger!"

"Don't say sorry to me, Tiny. A sexta _never _apologizes. Not to anybody but himself."

_"Damn it all!" _He roared to himself. _"Fine.....Tiny stays...but __**something**__ has to be done." _

"Grimmjow-sama?" The voice whispered again. He turned his head to look at her from the corner of his eye.

"What?" He barked angrily.

"Thank you..."

The sexta Espada smirked and turned down the hallway that led to his private area of Las Noches. He grabbed the collar of her shirt with one hand and whipped her off his back in one smooth motion.

"Ah!" She cried out. "Don't drop me!" Grimmjow chuckled evilly and pretended to let her go, earning a surprised scream from his fraccion.

"Hn...I need bandages." He kicked open the door to his room and stopped, a puzzled look on his face. "Its...shiny..."

_"WHAT THE FUCK?!"_

Trying very hard not to start yelling in anger, he took a few choppy breaths, stepped into the room and-WHAM!

He swore loudly as he practically slid across his floor and hit the wall on the opposite side. To angry at that point to be sensitive, he tossed her away from him and started swearing again.

"Grimmjow-sama!" She cried. "That hurt!" But all he could think about was the goddamn floor! He punched his wall and turned to her, blue eyes blazing like the hottest flame.

"Why. Is. It. Slippery?" He screeched, voice nearly cracking with rage. She pulled back against his headboard and covered her face with her hands.

"You told me to clean it!"

Grimmjow roared again and took one angry step towards her-

"Dammit!" He growled at her in his throat and then jumped onto his bed. The sudden weight on one end sent Adalia flying into the air, a horrified expression on her face. Finally, he seemed to remember that she was hurt, and caught her before she fell again. Ironically, Mila Rose popped her head through the door right at that moment, laughing her head off.

"Haha! Do you know how wrong that conversation sounded?" She pointed a finger at Grimmjow and laughed even harder. "What the hell do you think you're doing Grimmjo-"

"You. Are. Dead." He hissed. With a dangerous look in his eyes, he put Adalia down and leaped at Mila Rose.

Adalia gasped and hid her face in the sheets, listening to the sounds of the fight... Grimmjow, it seemed, was not holding back. After only a few seconds, she heard the sound of the door closing, and fabric rustling.

"Open your eyes." Grimmjow said exhaustedly. "Why the hell are you hiding?" Slowly, Adalia lifted her head and blinked her eyes. Her captain wasn't the only one who didn't know why she was hiding.

"My apologies, Grimmjow-sama...you are...very...scary."

Grimmjow was walking over to his bed, a roll of bandages in one hand, and a small box in the other. He had a blank look on his face...and it made Adalia shiver.

"Lie down." He ordered. Staring at him with wide eyes, she couldn't find the will to make her body move. A tiny gasp escaped her mouth as he pushed her down but...his touch wasn't harsh like it usually was. "Don't worry." He grinned. "It won't hurt."

Before Adalia could make any reply, he ripped off part of her shirt, poured an antiseptic over it, and starting winding bandages.

"Its burning!" She gasped, writhing under his hands. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he gave her a warning glare and held her down with one hand.

"I can't tie it when you're squirming!" He growled.

Under his hand, she stilled, and Grimmjow looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He had only just realized that his hand was placed rather high on her stomach. It was flat and pale...perfect.

The Espada pushed the animal thought out of his mind. It was an odd feeling. He wanted it, yet it somehow felt...wrong. Returning to the bandages, he tied them in a knot and smoothed them over with his hand.

"There." He said quietly. "Hey, Adalia!" Grimmjow shoved her, and found her tiredly swatting at his hand.

"Grimmjow....." His eyes widened. "sama..." They returned to normal. "Stop it...I'm t-tired!" Her words were cut off by a yawn.

"Hey!" He hissed. "Go away! This is my room!"

But she was already asleep. The sexta was momentarily stunned. In sleep, her face had a peaceful, innocent look that he had never seen before. She brushed her arm with her fingers, they were ice cold. Pulling away from her, he stalked out of the room with a sullen look on his face.

"Damn..." He muttered. "I need to blow off some steam..."

It seemed like days had passed when Adalia opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed, was that she was alone in a very cluttered room, with junk and clothes strewn everywhere. She was completely buried under a pile of blankets and sheets, with her head lying on a gigantic white down pillow. It smelt very good. The scent overwhelmed her...it was musky but subtle, yet somehow overpowering. It was...

"Grimmjow-sama!" She gasped, shooting up. The motion was too sudden, and she fell back, gasping in pain. Something red and sticky coated her fingertips as she dragged them over her stomach.

"Hn. You opened up your wound." Came the rough voice from somewhere else in the room. "Idiot."

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, still cringing from the pain. "I forgot what happened...hey, where are you?"

Smirking widely, Grimmjow appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. He was dressed only in his hakama pants, beads of water dripping off him. Just the smallest hint of blush crept across Adalia's face.

"You're wet." She stated.

"So?" Grunted Grimmjow as he shook some of the water off his head. "You're all bloody now."

"I win?!" She giggled and slowly slid off the bed, rising into a standing position. "Grimmjow-sama can we go for a walk?"

"_You _can go for a walk." He growled. "I'm busy." The teal-haired Espada glared fiercely at his young fraccion. "Why don't you go bother somebody else?"

A shy look spread across Adalia's face, and she stumbled over to the door without another word. Some dark feeling settled in the pit of Grimmjow's stomach. He assumed that it must be guilt, since she nearly fell on her face trying to walk over the doors threshold without something to hold onto. But when she turned into the hallway, a determined look graced her face, and she screamed out:

"Shawloooong-chan! D-Roy-chan?!" A smile broke out on her face, and she turned to look at Grimmjow one last time before limping out of sight. Her lilac eyes sparking with some unknown emotion.

Swearing under his breath, Grimmjow slammed to door to his room shut and stalked back to the bathroom, his teal eyes blazing.

"Shawlong?" Adalia giggled. "Do the other fraccion hate me?" The melancholy fraccion stared at Adalia with a curious expression on his face as the young woman twirled around on the parquet floor of the hallway. He thought back to the time when the other fraccion had first found out that she was Grimmjow's newest addition to the group.

_"Hey, you losers!" Roared Grimmjow one afternoon. "You've got a new sister fraccion!" He shoved the tiny woman forwards, a huge smirk on his face. _

_Shawlong recognized the woman, he had often participated in teasing and hurting her with some of the other arrancar, but he didn't really mind her. She was after all, extremely attractive. The other fraccion however, didn't like the idea of a female stealing attention._

_"No!" Squealed Nakim! "I knew 5 fraccion was too many, but now we have to compete with this...this...female?!?!" He drew his zanpakuto and rushed Adalia. Eyes widening fearfully, the tiny female ducked behind Grimmjow, jumping up on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. _

_"What the hell?" Grimmjow's eyes narrowed angrily and he blocked Nakim with one hand as he tried to pull her off with the other. "Get off me!" _

_Adalia started laughing and only hugged his neck tighter. It took several minutes for the commotion to settle down, but when Nakim was finally pulled into the fraccion's room by the others, Shawlong was surprised to see that Grimmjow had apparently given up trying to get her off, and he looked...different. _

_The Espada chuckled and walked into his room, yelling at Adalia for something that she had done wrong. Meanwhile, Shawlong had walked back into the fraccion's room only to find them plotting an attack against Adalia next time her back was turned...but she **never **left Grimmjow's side. Waiting outside the room during Espada meetings, attached to his side constantly...and the most disconcerting thing of all, he didn't seem to mind as much as all his complaining let on..._

"No..." He murmured in response. "I don't think they do. Although, they are jealous of you." The woman turned with wide eyes to look at him.

"J-Jealous? O-Of...me?" She turned away, her innocent face distant. "That's odd... Grimmjow-sama said they didn't like me."

"Did he?" Asked Shawlong, genuinely surprised. It was _so _difficult sometimes, to understand his Espada lord...especially when it came to Adalia. Shawlong himself was jealous of the fact that Grimmjow seemed to confide more in her, and spend much more time with her...

"Maybe I can do something to make them like me?..." She shrugged and continued her twirling reverie. As usual, whenever she opened her mouth and started singing, everyone around her had trouble concentrating. Her voice was like liquid honey, soft and sweet.

Eventually, her graceful steps led them down to a kitchen area where arrancar could cook meals. An old, rather ugly arrancar was in charge of the room, and grumpily fulfilled any requests. She twirled up to him and flounced to a stop, her long white pants fluttering around her too-small waist.

"What do you want?" He said in a detached voice, to dejected to sound like he cared any more.

"I want your help!" She replied cheerfully, a plan forming in her head. "Shawlong-chan, help me!"

A few hours later, night was falling on the Hueco Mundo. The sexta Espada had spent most of the day on the roof, staring out at the wide expanse of desert. He was too tired to train, and feeling to hungry to be yelling at any of his fraccion.

So, he wandered back to his room rather aimlessly, no real direction or purpose. He had long since abandoned his old fraccion. He couldn't care less how they spent their time, but...Adalia had been gone all day...irrationally of course, he found himself wondering whether or not to go looking for her...

The Espada was standing in front of a full-length mirror in his room when a familiar silhouette appeared in the door.

"Where the _hell _have you been?!" Shouted Grimmjow as he turned on his heel. There she was, standing just inside the doorway, her face flushed pink, her hands behind her back.

"W-well...I...I made you something!" She stammered, and took her hands out from behind her. In her hands was a cake on a plate. For a few seconds, Grimmjow stared at it in surprise, then he laughed and walked up to her.

Warily, he stuck his fingertip into the bright blue icing, and brought it to his mouth. With an almost nervous look in his eyes, he licked it off.

"Its...not bad..." He finally admitted, earning a delighted smile from Adalia. Then, he took out a piece of the actual cake, and stuck it in his mouth. A shiver ran through his entire body.

"Never mind!" He said with a grimace. "Its a pretty shitty cake, actually." His teal eyes stared unrelentingly at her lilac irises, until her bottom lip trembled. Then, Adalia dug her hand into the top of the cake, pulled out a handful, and threw it right at Grimmjow!

It splatted all over his neck and chest. Grimmjow swore, and threw some at her, landing it right in her hair. Adalia shrieked and before either of them really knew what was happening, cake was flying everywhere!

It took a good five minutes for the fluffy white substance to stop flying. When it was over, Grimmjow and Adalia both lay on the ground, their heads side by side. Adalia was laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face, and when Grimmjow looked at her, he started laughing. It was a quite chuckle at first, but it became louder when he got a good look at Adalia. He had managed to cover her from head to toe in cake, and she herself was gagging at the piece that had got into her mouth.

She started giggling uncontrollably at that point.

"Oh!" She gasped in between laughs. "It does taste bad!"

"Not the icing." Admitted Grimmjow. He wiped some off his cheek and ate it, smirking. Adalia looked at him out of the corner of her eye, sparkling with happiness. Shrugging he reached over, and wiped the icing off her nose, licking it off.

"I don't like to waste." He chuckled in response to her shocked look. "You're a mess. Go clean yourself up."

Still smiling and laughing, Adalia stood up and skipped to Grimmjow's bathroom before he could kick her out to use a different shower. Steam had soon begun to drift out from under the door, but Grimmjow was otherwise occupied. A sense of darkness hung over him, a sense of foreboding...he would have to start training harder...change was on the air.

* * *

**Alright, sorry for the short and sappy stuff guys ^^ but I'm kind of still working on the plotline. The next chappy will be goood though...guess why?! ICHIGO ARRIVES!!! WOOT! XD plz review 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heeeey Everybody!**** Sorry I haven't updated in so long! :S (: i've been busy writin' away, and I've got a couple chapters of Ardor's Knight written now! I'm only going to update if you review though, so please! R&R! Well, here ya go, the 3rd Chapter of Ardor's Knight 3**

* * *

_Still smiling and laughing, Adalia stood up and skipped to Grimmjow's bathroom before he could kick her out to use a different shower. __Steam had soon begun to drift out from under the door, but Grimmjow was otherwise occupied. A sense of darkness hung over him, a sense of foreboding...he would have to start training harder...change was on the air._

As soon as she was inside and the door was shut, she filled the bathtub with steaming water and threw all her cake-covered clothes out the window. She pulled a bottle of bubble soap out from under the sink. It was something Grimmjow had stolen from the human world, and brought back to Adalia as a souvenir. It was special to her.

When the bathtub was full of big blue bubbles, she gently lowered herself into the water and sank into the warmth. It was very relaxing. Once she felt clean, she lifted her wet arms out of the water and scrubbed her hair. She had dyed it. There were now teal streaks in it.

"Adalia!" Grimmjow suddenly roared from the other side of the door. "Get out now! I gotta go!"

"Grimmjow-Sama!" She cried obstinately. "I'm right in the middle of bathing! Go to another bathroom!" There was a brief and ominous silence from the other side of the door.

"So help me, Adalia..." The voice that spoke was low and dangerous. "If you aren't out here in ten seconds, I'm coming in."

"Eeh!" Adalia squealed in fear and slammed her head into the water to get the soap out of it.

"Three..." She heard him counting softly outside, tapping his fingers impatiently against the door.

"WAIT! PLEASE!" She screamed, trying to get out of the huge, deep bathtub, and failing.

"Seven..." He hissed.

"GRIMMJOW-SAMA!" She finally stood up, with one foot out of the tub, only to hear him say _"nine"_. With an outraged squeal, she threw herself back into the water.

_**Bam**_

Grimmjow burst threw the door and flew to the toilet. He let out a groan of satisfaction as he let it all out.

"Thats better..." He whispered after a few seconds. Then, his back stiffened as he remembered why he'd been holding it for so long. He redid his pants, and turned on his heels, eyes icy.

"What the _hell _do you think you were-"

Grimmjow paused. His clenched fists fell open.

Adalia had one lean leg hanging loosely over the edge of the bathtub, the other curled up against her. Half the water in the bathtub had drained, and she was covered in a tub-full of bright blue bubbles. Her arms were folded resolutely across her chest and she had a pout across her face.

"Doing?" She muttered wryly. "I was cleaning myself." Then, her pout broke into a small smile. She blushed. "I think my ankle's hurt."

It took Grimmjow a few moments to collect himself.

"Come on." He growled, holding out his hand. Adalia tentatively grabbed it and let him pull her up. Before the bubbles could slide off her, he wrapped her in a towel and dried her off. "How can you possible have hurt your ankle? You're an arrancar, not a baby."

Adalia smiled at him. Rolling his eyes, Grimmjow easily gathered her up in his arms and carried her out to his messy bed. The moment he had set her down and picked up her ankle with his hands, he felt the heat and tenderness of it.

"Its sprained." He murmured. "Pretty badly." With a sigh, he let go of her ankle and looked up at her red face. "No walking. For two days." Smirking evilly, he threw some of her clothes on the bed and growled. "Change."

He stalked into the bathroom again and Adalia heard the sound of the bathtub draining and drawers being opened and closed. As fast as she could, Adalia started changing into the clothes. She whipped on some undergarments and a shirt, but then spent several seconds staring angrily at the pair of pants.

"You done?" Grimmjow called a few seconds later.

"Grimmjow-sama..." She whispered. "Can you help me?"

He walked out and laughed when he saw her problem. Her injured foot would never fit down the leg in that tender position.

"Here." He opened a drawer in the wall and pulled out a torn pair of his training pants. "These will be looser."

As he sat down at her feet, he held them up for her while she lifted her good foot into the left pant leg and then gently lowered her injured ankle in for her.

"These are much better!" She exclaimed and she wiggled them up to her hips. "Thank you, Grimmjow-sama."

"Its late." Was his only response. "Go to sleep." he then retreated to the windowsill where he perched, pretending to look out at the Hueco Mundo.

For a moment, Adalia stared after him, then smiled. She burrowed her way under a mountain of blankets until she was pretty much cocooned in them.

"Ah!" came her muffled voice from underneath the covers. "Its cold down here!" She let a pout steal across her face. "First you sprain my ankle, then you let me get hypothermia...you're not doing a very good job!"  
"Adalia..."

* * *

"Carry me!"

"Stop whining."

"Carry me!"

"Enough!"

"Carry me!"

"Adalia, if you don't stop whining _right _now..."

"CARRY ME!"

...

_"How the hell did __**this **__happen?" _Grimmjow growled to himself. Somehow, as usual, Adalia had ended up getting her way. He had her hanging off his back, clinging desperately to him with her arms and one good leg.

"Slow down!" She gasped, out of breath from just holding on.

"I thought you wanted me to carry you."

"I hurt..."

"We're almost there. Pain is temporary. Just don't think about it."

"Yes, Grimmjow-sama-...Ai-...Aizen-sama!"

Grimmjow dug his heels into the floor and stopped immediately. Adalia promptly smacked her forehead off his hollow mask.

"Ow, Ow, OW!" She gasped, holding a hand to her forehead while at the same time bowing it frantically towards Aizen.

"What's this?" Aizen gave them one of his creepy smirks. "Out for a stroll?" He was stroking the handle of his zanpakuto, and staring, not at Grimmjow, but at Adalia.

"Yes, Aizen-sama." Replied Grimmjow dryly. "I'm going to train, and she has to learn how to protect herself better, so I'm letting her come and watch."

"I see..." He murmured, still staring at Adalia, who stared back slightly defiantly. "Carry on then."

Grimmjow was out of the hallway before the ex-shinigami could utter another word. He started swearing and muttering under his breath.

"What's wrong, Grimmjow-sama?" Adalia whispered conspiratorially, dropping her head down so that her ear was closer to his mouth.

"That-That traitorous slime thinks he's better than everybody..." Grimmjow growled under his breath. "Don't believe a _word _that comes out of his mouth! He claims to have created all of us with that...that hogyoku piece of fuck..."

Adalia's eyes narrowed.

"It's all lies! Yammy, Stark, Cuatro...they were all arrancar without his hogyoku!" A hiss escaped his teeth. "I don't know yet, what exactly he wants...but I do know that he _isn't _searching for Vasto Lordes...he's already got four I don't understand this..."

Adalia couldn't help but smile when he lost focus for a few seconds and let an almost pouty scowl cross his face. It was gone within a second, but it gave her hope.

"As far as I'm concerned, the only words worth listening to are said by you. You don't have to worry about me falling for others lies." She had her lilac eyes closed, and didn't see Grimmjow's eyes flash to her face, or his mouth drop open quickly before silently closing again.

"What I don't understand is...where are the Vasto Lordes Aizen has already got?"

Even with her eyes closed, Adalia thought she could feel Grimmjow's rage simmering beneath his calm exterior. It didn't bother her though. No matter how he was acting at the moment, she knew it was always there...right below the surface.

"Call him Aizen-sama Tiny..." He finally muttered. "Thats not a habit one like you should get into."

They had reached the humongous, empty, indoor training area. There wasn't a soul within 100-ken. ***(1 ken = 6 feet)***

Suddenly, Grimmjow's teal eyes widened. Adalia had practically _pushed _herself off his back and landed albeit rather clumsily on the hard-packed earth behind him. He turned, and stared at her as she let out a frustrated shriek and stamped her good foot on the ground.

**"One like me?" **She cried out, eyes flashing angrily. "Grimmjow-sama, I am your most loyal fraccion! One who doesn't deserve your respect certainly does **not **deserve mine!" For a few seconds, she just stood there and glared at him, her chest heaving from her screaming.

"Tiny, you probably are my most _loyal _fraccion, but you are hardly the strongest. You're barely even a numeros-!"

Adalia let out the loudest shriek yet, and much to Grimmjow's surprise, she darted right up to him faster than his eyes could register, and stopped with her left hand at the base of his throat. He felt the tiny prick as something sharp was laid there.

"Grimmjow-sama..." She whispered, her face determined. "You are my reason for breathing!"

Something inside of him pulsed.

"If you ordered me too, I would cut off my own arms, Grimmjow-sama. I would die for you in an instant, not questioning the worth of my own life! And you call me **weak?**"

"Adalia..." Grimmjow said quietly, his face completely blank of emotion. The sight of it angered her.

"If you ordered me too, I would fight every single hollow in Hueco Mundo, and every single soul in Las Noches!" Her voice faltered.

Suddenly, Grimmjow felt a strange swelling feeling in his chest. It took him a moment to recognize the emotion. It was pride. He was immeasurably proud of his young fraccion.

"You're making me bleed..." He decided to point out quietly. Adalia stepped away from him and let her hand fall to her side.

"I'll clean all your clothes later." She said blankly, her voice sad.

"That's your zanpakuto..." Grimmjow muttered, grabbing her wrist and bringing it up to his eyes. "It's so tiny."

Adalia had an unusual zanpakuto. They were a pair of metal rods with sharp ends used for stabbing. Mounted on them was a ring through which her middle fingers were inserted, allowing them to spin and be elaborately manipulated. She had one for each hand.

"You go first." Grimmjow said with a laugh. "Show those dummies what you've got."

* * *

"NO!" Roared Grimmjow angrily. "Dammit, how many times do I have to tell you! The whole idea of the shape of that zanpakuto is to _confuse _enemies by spinning them, so that you can get close enough to attack the face and neck at close range!"

Adalia, covered in sweat and breathing hard, steeled herself and lunged at the training dummy once again.

Her Espada bellowed some horrific swear word and stalked over to her.

"OPEN PALM!" He roared in her ear.

"OKAY!" She screamed back...right in his face.

For a moment, he glared at her maliciously. Then,

"That's it!" He lunged at her, drawing his sword at the same time. "Adalia! This is an _order_! Fight me."

Her eyes widened, and she took a nervous step backwards, only to be slashed at by Grimmjow, who was grinning evilly.

"There's no way I can-"

"I thought you said you were strong!"

A small gasp escaped Adalia. Her lilac eyes widened, and she fell back onto her haunches.

"NOW!" Roared Grimmjow, raised his blade above his head, and brought it down.

_Ping_

The Sexta Espada was momentarily stunned by the clear, pealing sound of the tips of her zanpakuto's touched his own blade. Adalia's small hands were shaking with the force of holding him off her, but she had a determined look on her face, and sure enough, she was, to some extent, holding him off.

His mouth cracked open into a wide grin.

"You're ready."

* * *

"It hurts." Whined Adalia as she trailed Grimmjow down the hallway to the throne room.

"Suck it up, Sixty-Six!" Chuckled Grimmjow. He cracked his knuckles at Zommari Leroux as they walked past him in the hallway. The passive Espada did not respond, but Grimmjow could sense his anger. Sexta was itching for a fight.

"I _do _like the sound of that!" She giggled. "Just wait until D-Roy hears! He said I'd never survive the 90's!"

"He's just below the Espada, Adalia. You're not even close to him." When she gave him an affronted glare, he laughed loudly.

"Did you see when I took out his eyes!" Adalia giggled. "It was about time there was a new numeros in town!" She laughed and skipped ahead of him, twirling and humming under her breath.

From behind her, Grimmjow slowly stalked towards the meeting that he was already late for. Didn't matter, really... He was rather enjoying the view of Adalia's new tattoo, blacker than coal, spread across her back right where his own was. Of course, she had two sixes instead of one. It nearly made him laugh when he remembered the previous hour, during which Adalia had sobbed uncontrollably as the tattoo was applied by one of the extremely lowly arrancar. His hand still throbbed where she had crushed it in between her own small fingers.

She was waiting for him at the door to the throne room, unable to even reach the handles to open it with. Without even blinking, he threw the door open and strode in.

"Come..." He whispered as he passed her.

That surprised her. Normally, fraccion didn't go into meetings unless their Espada required their skills for the discussions. Nevertheless, she skipped merrily in after him, a grin on her face from ear to ear.

The other nine Espada fell silent as Grimmjow strode to his seat and sat down. Their deep eyes followed Adalia as she ran in after him and crouched beside his chair.

"You're late." Stated Ulquiorra contemptuously. A few of the Espada looked back and forth between the two.

"I was updating a fraccion." Grimmjow said expressionlessly. "It took longer than expected."

"Which one-" Yammy began.

"Me!" Gasped Adalia, sticking her head over the rim of the table. "I went up thirty numbers!" She giggled, only to find herself pushed back under the table by Grimmjow who was staring at Aizen out of the corner of his eye.

The ex-shinigami smiled, and Adalia felt the pressure on her head slowly decrease as Grimmjow hesitantly removed his hand and let her up again.

"I am most pleased by this news, Adalia-chan. Sixty-six is it?"

Her eyes lit up.

"Yes, thats it!"

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed, and underneath the table, his foot brushed against her leg meaningfully. She appeared not to have noticed.

"Good...very good..." Aizen furrowed his eyebrows and rested his chin on his interlaced fingers. "Now that our last Espada has joined us, we shall begin the meeting."

From her position underneath the table, Adalia could see two other fraccion crouching in her exact position. There names were SunSun and Apache...Halibel's fraccion she thought.

The meeting seemed to drag on forever. Aizen would just talk and _talk_! Then the Espada would exchange verbal blows and ideas before Aizen would start _talking _again. Something about the dark warmth of under the table, and the gently hum of talking was very soothing to Adalia. The last thing she registered in her mind was Grimmjow's leg stiffening as she let her head flop against it tiredly.

* * *

"Wake up!" Grimmjow shook Adalia harder. It took a few seconds for her to realize that her head was snapping back and forth with the force of his shaking.

"I-I'm u-u-up!" She gasped, grabbing his wrists and trying to stop the violent shaking.

"Come on." He muttered, stalking off, his hands in the pockets of his hakama. "I never got time to train." As they left the meeting hall and started walking down the narrow tunnel that left back to the palace, he turned his head over his shoulder and grinned toothily at her.

"Besides...I have to get you toughened up. You'll never survive the shinigami fights with _those _weak arms..." A low hissing sound that could have been a laugh emanated from his throat.

Adalia's mouth dropped open and her eyebrows furrowed. It was hard for her to catch up to him, but she managed to stumble up behind him and grab for his wrist with her slim fingers.

"I-----"

_ChikChikChik...the loud hammering of the guns echoed in her ears. They hurt. Her head pounded. Why were they fighting?_

_ Bare feet padded softly down the hallway of the tiny apartment. She didn't want to disturb his sleep. He barely slept anymore. The circles under his coal black eyes were dark and heavy._

_ She...was crying...Why? Oh...the pain. Incredible pain in her chest. Blood on her clothes. His arms around her. Why was he screaming?_

Adalia fell to her knees, clutching her head in one hand and her chest in the other. Her eyes were wide, her entire body shaking.

"Oh!" She gasped. "Wha-...what happened!"

Grimmjow was just staring at her. He face was quite devoid of expression, but his eyes were stormy. He had just had a series of strange visions. He too felt a great pain, but it didn't feel like what Adalia seemed to be suffering. There was...a great weight in his chest. Like he'd forgotten something extremely important, only ten times worse. The feeling only intensified, along with a massive headache.

"Dunno." He whispered. She was choking on something. Coughing violently and doubling over on the floor. "Easy...breathe..." He bent down beside her and grabbed her gently. "Up you go." Grimmjow pulled Adalia to her feet and stared at her face for a few seconds. There was nothing seriously wrong.

"Grimmjow-sama." She pushed out. "I-can't-breathe!"

"You're choking on air." He replied, barking a quick laugh. Big mistake. His head hurt even more...

"I'm-serious!" She gasped.

"Relax." He commanded more sharply. "Its just my stunning good looks." Before she could throw up _real _chunks on him, he grabbed the back of her shirt and whisked her away to the palace with his sonido.

As soon as he landed and turned almost gracefully into his chambers, he glanced at her and froze. Adalia's face was almost pure white. Her skin had grown cold, and her eyes dim.

"Where does it hurt?" He asked briskly as he pushed her not roughly down onto his bed. "Your heart?" He asked when she twitched the hand clutching at the front of her shirt.

The pain is his head had grown excruciating. But he could endure that pain. It was the strange stony feeling in his gut that gnawed at him. He used his sonido again and brought her back a drink of water. The sound of space ripping and shredding bothered his aching head.

"Thanks!" She gasped as the cool water cleared her throat. She was able to breathe again, but the pain in her chest and head was horrifying. Then, she looked up at Grimmjow and whispered,

"I'm an arrancar. We don't have hearts."

For a moment, Grimmjow was stunned. Then, he hissed and threw something white at her face.

"If anybody in this place has a heart, it'll be you, Tiny."

With a small smile on her face, Adalia pulled the white bundle off her face. It turned out to be an oversize shirt. A little worn, but clean, and looser than her normal clothes, the tightness of which only made her pain worse.

Inside the bathroom, Grimmjow held one of the facecloth under the hot water, and rang it out. He folded it into a neat rectangle and held it to his forehead with one hand as he took off his Espada jacket and threw it on the floor.

"Is the pain any worse now-"

He paused. Adalia had burrowed into his blankets, buried under the mountain of warmth. Her eyes were closed, her breathing soft and regular.

* * *

_She's sleeping..._ He thought to himself. _I won't wake her up now..._and he slipped out the door and down the hallway, his face a grim mask.

Far away, in the human world, Ichigo Kurosaki was just waking up. Harsh sunlight was filtering through his blinds, and making his head pound. He'd taken a beating from an unusually strong hollow the day before, and the prospect of school wasn't making his headache any better.

_"Why!" _He asked himself. _"Why am I so weak?" _

"Ichigo!" The quiet was broken by the sound of a familiar voice. The orange-haired shinigami looked out his window with a sullen expression.

Orihime, Uryu, and Chad were all waiting for him on the sidewalk.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried out. "Hurry! We're gonna be late for school!"

_"Oh ya..." _He remembered. _"I promised I'd walk with them..."

* * *

_

**Tadaaaa! 3 well there it is (: I ALREADY HAVE CHAPTER FOUR WRITTEN! It has some seriously good stuff in it ;);) so REVIEW IF YOU WANT IT! 3 **

**On another note, I've decided that a good theme song for this story is Cherish by Ai Otsuka (: youtube it if you want 3**

**Love, MadaraUchiha333  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Double update today yaaay :) I sorta feel like this story could be better, so I might to a rewrite, but no worries, not until i finish it :) anyways, enjoy and PLZ REVIEW! :)**

Adalia's eyes fluttered open, and a small yawn escaped her. Her first thought was that it was incredibly warm. Not an uncomfortable warmth, but very noticeable. She was curled up like a cat, with her knees pulled up to her chin and her hands clenched around a thin white sheet.

"Where am I?" She whispered aloud, only to gasp as the sheet underneath her shifted.

"On top of me." Growled Grimmjow.

Adalia's face reddened, and with a soft cry she loosened her fingers and sat up, earning a pained grunt from Grimmjow.

"Watch where your sticking your elbow!" He hissed, blue eyes crackling. The bright red blush across her face just deepened.

The white 'sheet' that she'd been holding on to for dear life had been his hakama pants, and the warm bed underneath her had in fact been him. He was lying flat on his back with his arms spread out to either side of the bed, his teal hair falling across his eyes and around his sharply angled face.

"I'm sorry, Grimmjow-Sama!" Suddenly, her sleepy eyes transformed into wide orbs of innocence. "You scared me!"

For a second she stared at him with a cute frown on her face, then she burst into giggles and rolled off him. The bed was cold.

"AH!" She shrieked and jumped back on top of him. "Cold, cold, cold, cold!" Growling in pain, Grimmjow almost immediately lifted her off of him.

"I _told _you to watch it!" He hissed in her face.

"Do you have an injury on your lower abdomen?" Adalia asked, astounded. "Oh! What happened? I should call a healer!"

Sighing, Grimmjow sat up and placed her on the bed next to him.

"Just...just don't punch me there!" He laughed almost nervously. "That hurts guys."

For a couple seconds, Adalia was confused. Then, her eyes widened.

"Oh...OH!" She leaped onto the floor and got on her knees on the floor, bowing. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Its fine." He said, rolling his eyes. "Just _try _not to do it again." Then he grinned and stood up. "Anyways, after you fell asleep in _my _bed last night, I went out and trained. I've got a surprise for you."

He sauntered over to the wall, and pulled a clean jacket out of the hole that had opened up in the strange walls of Las Noches. Adalia shadowed him, eyes shining with a fervent excitement.

"A present? For _me_?" She asked as Grimmjow grabbed his zanpakuto from the bedside table and moved towards the door.

"Yes." He stated.

"Why would you get me anything?" Adalia asked the question almost to herself. She nearly plowed into Grimmjow as he stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. There was a strange look on his face.

"Why wouldn't I?" He said matter-of-factly. Then, he held out his hand to her. "Although, you probably shouldn't trust me."

His young fraccion's expression hardened.

"You can't scare me away, Grimmjow-sama. Its too late for that." As she spoke, she grabbed Grimmjow's pointer finger with her tiny hand and curled her fingers around it.

"I sorta hoped you'd say that."

The unlikely pair walked downthe dark hallways of the Palace Sexta. It was too early for any other arrancar to be walking around, and most of them detoured Grimmjow's palace anyways, unless they were looking for a bloodbath.

As they turned the last corner into the hall of fraccion, Adalia gasped. Shawlong, Nakim, D-Roy, Ilfort and Edorad were gathered in the hallway. Each of them had a black knapsack and a grin of anticipation on their face.

"We're going out."

* * *

"So...is hollow baiting dangerous?" Adalia asked D-Roy who was walking beside her. The small group of Arrancar had snuck out of Las Noches and used sonido (with Adalia hitching a ride on Grimmjow) to get far out into the desert.

"Pfft!" The male arrancar said in a scary voice. "Naw, they're pretty boring. Ya know, the last time we just chilled."

"By 'we just chilled', are you referring to the incident that you got chased halfway back to Las Noches by that Adjuchas?" Rumbled Edorad. The entire group laughed, including Grimmjow.

"We use the weakest arrancar to bait them." Edorad explained, turning his large head towards Adalia, who paled.

"D-Roy again I s'pose." Grimmjow chuckled.

Something about the group of fraccion relaxed him. It was easier to enjoy himself when it was just them. And, he hadn't been hollow-baiting in weeks. The adrenaline he was feeling already was nearly unbearable.

"But she's like 40 numbers below me!" Whined D-Roy. "They'll go for her anyways!"

"This is a three-day trip!" Exclaimed Adalia loudly. "We can share!"

For some reason, Grimmjow found her words amusing. The smile was quickly wiped off his face as Adalia tackled him and wrapped her arms and legs around him.

"I'm tired..." She yawned into his ear. "We've been walking for hours!" The Espada just rolled his eyes and put her legs through his arms so that he could carry her easier.

"If you rest now, you're going first!" Teased Grimmjow, shaking her a little bit. Her only response was a quiet noise of acceptance. Then she let her head balance on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"How do you bait the hollows?" She asked after a few minutes. Grimmjow shivered. Her breath was warm compared to the crisp air of Hueco Mundo.

"You have to do something to get their attention." Grimmjow replied. "It could be anything. It more or less depends on what that particular hollow hunts."

"Are they hiding?" She asked, opening her eyes.

"Hiding, yes." His eyes narrowed into cat-like slits. "But never let your guard down. They're always watching."

Every movement on the horizon became a possible danger to Adalia. Whenever something flashed across her vision, she tensed, and Grimmjow would squeeze her legs ever so slightly.

"Its fine." He would say every time. "Just a gillian." Eventually, she was able to relax, realizing that as long as she was in the group, she would be safe.

"This is your stop." Grimmjow said after an hour of carrying her. "I don't want my shoulders to get stiff right before the action."

"Is this the one you want, Grimmjow-sama?" Asked Shawlong. "It is an Adjuchas, but not an exceptionally powerful one."

Grimmjow shrugged, and unsheathed his sword.

"I'm feeling a lot of them in this vicinity. The fight will attract the rest, and it'll be a good warm up. Then we can camp here and wait for others to fall in tomorrow."

"Very well." Nodded Shawlong. "As you wish." He turned to Adalia, his normally serious face starting to show signs of anticipation. "How do you wish to be bait?"

"Uh..." She said nervously. "How do you normally do it?"

Suddenly, she realized that everybody else's eyes were wide, staring off behind her.

"What is that?" Asked Shawlong quietly.

Adalia didn't like the evil, crazed grin that had appeared on Grimmjow's face. He didn't look at anybody else, just growled

"Looks fun."

Then, his eyes widened as well, and thats when Adalia became truly nervous. He locked eyes with Adalia and roared-

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

Suddenly, a scaly-looking tentacle wrapped around Adalia. She screamed, punching and kicking it, but it only constricted tighter around her waist and dragged her into the air.

"Adalia!" She heard Grimmjow call out. "Don't get yourself killed." Her violet eyes found the source of his voice and realized nervously that the group was also surrounded by Adjuchas.

The one that had grabbed her was humanoid shaped, with 4 long prehensile tentacles where its arms should have been. Three of the tentacles had hands on the end. The fourth was tipped with a foot long wickedly curved spear, dripping an untrustworthy green liquid. Its grotesquely human face leered at her, and brought her down to face level.

"I _like_ you...Maybe we can have some fun together before I eat you."

Adalia screamed and struggled wildly as an unnaturally long tongue escaped its mouth and licked slowly up her neck to her chin.

"I've got it Grimmjow." She was vaguely aware of Shawlong saying. "Go get her."

Then, she heard the metallic shriek of a hollow along with a few unique swear words from Grimmjow.

"Dammit!" He roared, followed by what sounded like the blast of a cero.

"What's the matter?" Gurgled the hollow. "Don't you want to play?"

Everything suddenly seemed faraway to Adalia. What had Grimmjow said to her during training?

_"Everything is a deadly weapon if you know how to use it. That includes knowledge."_

_ "I..." _She thought to herself. _"What the hell am I doing? I...I'm with the Sexta!"_

"AAAAAAAAAAHH!" The hollow suddenly dropped Adalia. She landed lightly on the ground and rolled just as he blindly brought down his nasty scythe-tentacle. It burrowed into the think sand and got stuck. Adalia saw her opening, and took it without any hesitation.

The hollow was doubled over in pain, and didn't see her approach. It did however, hear the sound of her blades as she brought her hands down upon one of his tentacles. Blood spattered all over the sand as it was severed from him.

"BITCH!" He screeched, stabbing at her with the scythe. "How dare you!" Adalia leaped over his head and did a somersault, slashing down across his face as she did so. The tiny, serrated spike at the end speared on of his yellow eyes and ripped through his face down to the bone.

"You licked me!" Was as she could shriek. Her second blade was spinning over her hand, rotating by the mechanism on the ring. As the hollows remaining eye angrily focused on it, she sliced her other arm sideways. Her aim was true, and the hollows head went flying off, rolling to a stop a few yards away in the sand. Slowly, his still twitching body fell to the ground, and disappeared like sand being blown away.

"What did you_ do_?" Ilfort asked incredulously, his normally collected expression gone.

Adalia turned and looked at the rest of the party. The hollows were all gone, leaving nothing behind except for a few shattered remains. She blinked and shook her head.

"I kicked him." She replied innocently. Then, her eyes widened, and she fell to the ground at Grimmjow's feet. "Forgive me, Grimmjow-sama! You told me not to kick people there but then I couldn't get away and-"

Her Espada laughed grimly and pulled her up off the ground.

"I also told you that all knowledge is a weapon. Well done." He turned to the others and smirked. "Lets get this done."

The next hour passed by in a blur. The group of arrancars set up a perimeter and guarded it in shifts while the others set up the camp. Despite his rank as an Espada, Grimmjow preferred to rough it out old style, evident in the simplicity of his camp. When all the shelters were set up, he drew a circle around everything with the tip of his zanpakuto, creating a thick barrier of reishi that would deter any hollows.

"Time to eat!" Hissed Nakim excitedly. As everybody converged on the fire tended by Ilfort, Adalia laughed and poked Nakim's belly with one slim finger.

"Sorry, Naki-chan!" She giggled. "I don't think you have to!"

Everybody laughed as they sat down and dove into the piles of food they had brought with them. Everyone except Adalia.

She sat with her knees pulled up to her chin, her arms holding her legs close to her as if she were scared of falling apart. There was a blank look on her face as she stared into the flames, flickering in the moonlight.

"Why so glum, little sister?" Asked Ilfort after a few minutes, leaning back against a tree trunk and patting his muscled stomach. "You've barely touched the food."

Grimmjow's eyes flickered to her face and back to his plate. He continued to shove it angrily into his mouth, eating with an unusual vigor.

"I don't understand, nii!" She whispered, with her lavender eyes still locked on the fire. "Is it possible...that this zanpakuto isn't mine?"

Once more, Grimmjow's eyes slid to Adalia's face. So did everyone else's.

"Why would you think that?" Asked Ilfort calmly, but his dark eyes had flickered to his Espada.

"I-"

When, Adalia's voice caught in her throat, Grimmjow's eyes snapped over to her, only to find that she was staring at him, wide-eyed. He realized that his eyes were narrow and cold.

"I...never mind..." She lowered her gaze and gave a fake smile to Ilfort, who seemed not to notice her forced grin. "I'm just being silly!"

The circle relaxed, and everybody started stuffing their faces again. Adalia's fake smile disappeared, but as she saw the others laughing and smirking and making jokes, she let a small grin steal across her face.

"Time for sleeping!" She announced, standing up. D-Roy just shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"We're not tired! You're not the boss of us, Imoto-chan!"

Folding her thin arms across her chest, Adalia glared down at him. Of course, her glare looked more like a smile, but it had the same effect.

"You've eaten all the food." She noted softly. "And I know exactly what's going to happen. You're all going to fall asleep in about five minutes, and because I'm not strong enough to _drag_ you guys back into the tents, you'll spend the next two days complaining about how sore and tired you are!"

She watched with a small smile on her face as everybody grumbled and stalked into their individual tents. Of course, if any of them had complained further, Grimmjow would've pounded them. Nobody would have taken it further though. They all trusted their "little sisters" judgment in all things girly.

Adalia turned and looked at Grimmjow. He was staring out at Hueco Mundo with his hands spread over his knees, a dark look on his face.

* * *

"Good night, Grimmjow-sama." She whispered. Adalia took a minute to walk over to her tent and unzip it. She waited, kneeling on the sand in front of it for a few seconds, and when there was no reply, quietly entered the tent and zipped it shut behind her.

Adalia was still awake fifteen minutes later. With her single blanket covering her, and a small pillow under her head, the exhausted little arrancar should have fallen asleep immediately, but she was too cold and conflicted to even _consider _sleeping. She was about to start crying and bury her head in her pillow when the zipper to her tent was undone. Her body stiffened, but then Grimmjow slid in and she calmed...somewhat.

"Here." He muttered, holding out his hand. A little confused, Adalia held out her hands and closed her eyes expectantly.

"Its nothing special." He added gruffly, letting the food pass into her eager hands. Adalia smiled anyways, and gratefully ate the food. She'd expected that she'd go without until the next night.

"Thank you!" She gasped after a painful swallow.

"It doesn't matter." Grimmjow muttered, about to turn around when he saw the look on Adalia's face. "Are you cold?"

Adalia raised her wet eyes to Grimmjow's face as he took both of her hands in his and frowned at them.

"I'll go hijack blankets from Nakim. Lord knows, he doesn't need any to keep his fat self warm."

"Grimmjow-sama!" Adalia mentally kicked herself when she heard her voice falter. "I'm fine!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" He retorted angrily. "I'll bet you can't even feel your fingers!" Adalia scrunched her face up and looked away from him, a pout evident on her face.

"Its normal to be afraid." Murmured Grimmjow after a few seconds. His tone was gentler, but she could still hear his gruff confidence behind it. "Of your zanpakuto."

For what felt like an eternity, but was only a second, Adalia felt herself slip into this strange feeling of floating. Then, her stupid, annoying conscious had to go and point something out to her. She snapped out of it, and was mortified to feel a tear rolling down her face.

"You aren't afraid of anything! You're one to talk!"

If Grimmjow was unsettled by her words, she couldn't tell. He did however, give her a very strange and piercing look.

"Adalia...you still have much to learn." Her mouth dropped open. "Everybody is scared of something."

"W-What are you scared of?" She asked timidly, worried that she had crossed the line with her nosy question. The Sexta Espada just smirked.

"My fears are my own burden. No one else's." He tugged on her hands and bared his teeth in a smile. "Your fears on the other hand...they're my burden too."

Adalia stared at him as he gracefully lowered himself onto the nest she'd made in the middle of the tent.

"Like this fear you have of being alone out here. Its my burden to bear. So I'm the one that has to get rid of it for you."

With a tiny smile, Adalia fell back onto the bed beside him and turned her face up to his.

"When we get back to Las Noches, I'm gonna train-" A yawn. "-so hard!" Adalia whispered, letting her eyes slowly close. "I'll prove them all wrong!..I'll make you...proud." She let out another yawn, and her head flopped tiredly against the pillow.

_Ha! _Grimmjow laughed to himself. _Aizen will be angry that we left..._ Suddenly, Grimmjow felt as if a stone had settled into his stomach. His teal eyes narrowed dangerously. _Its not safe anymore._

"I'm _so _tired!" Yawned Adalia as they walked through the entrance of Las Noches two days later. "I could sleep for days!"

"Too bad we have training to-"

"Grimmjow." The Espada stopped in his tracks, eyes narrowed, while Adalia ploughed into his back and let out a surprised gasp.

"Ulquiorra." He replied dryly, letting a smirk steal across his face. Adalia peered around his arm curiously. The Cuatro Espada? He was a bit of a mystery to her.

His hollow mask, which cradled his messy black hair like a broken helmet, had something oddly familiar about it. Something that made Adalia's head ache whenever she saw him.

"Aizen-sama is disappointed with you, Grimmjow." Added the Fourth Espada. His emerald eyes rested on her face for a moment before sliding back to Grimmjow's. Adalia had to commend him. Not even Stark would look Grimmjow square in the face when he was angry.

"I'll deal with Aizen." Growled Grimmjow, his hands curling into fists. "Adalia go and make sure Ilfort does as I commanded-"

"That will not be necessary, Grimmjow." Murmured Ulquiorra coldly. "The girl is to come with me. Aizen-sama wishes to speak with her."

The tendons on the backs of Grimmjow's hands were vibrating by that point. He didn't like being told what to do, least of all having his fraccion ordered around by _Cuatro_.

"I'll be back quickly, Grimmjow-sama!" She said, standing up a little straighter and letting her hand brush hers as she walked up to Ulquiorra.

_"Don't worry! I'll tell him it was my idea!" _Grimmjow stiffened as he heard Adalia's pealing laughter in his head, along with her ominous message. He was about to yell at her when he saw Ulquiorra giving them a strange look. He'd obviously seen something.

"Aren't we supposed to be going somewhere, Ulquiorra-sama?" Adalia giggled. She looked over her shoulder and met Grimmjow's teal eyes through a gap in her lilac hair.

"Follow me." Replied the Fourth Espada, his cold voice reverberating through the entrance hall.

"Bye!" Smiled Adalia, waving at Grimmjow one last time before darting after Ulquiorra. Following a few feet behind him, Adalia had her first chance to examine him close up.

Ulquiorra was slender, yet muscular. He was quite a bit shorter than Grimmjow, but of course, still much taller than herself. Part of his messy, coal-black bangs fell into his emerald green eyes. He wore the usual arrancar outfit, a white jacket, black sash, and white hakama, but Adalia noted that his jacket was longer than usual, and had a higher collar that reached almost to his ears.

"Hurry up." He commanded sharply, jolting Adalia out of her daydreaming. "You are extremely slow. I'm amazed that Grimmjow hasn't killed you out of frustration yet."

"I'm sorry, Ulquiorra-sama!" Adalia smiled gently. "I'll try harder."

She hurried after him, and by the time they had reached the towers, her legs and chest were burning painfully.

"Wh-where are we going?" Adalia panted nervously. "The throne room is...the other...way!"

"Despite what you seem to think," Replied Ulquiorra glumly, "Aizen-sama isn't stuck to the throne."

Pink flushed Adalia's cheeks at his sarcastic remark. She was embarrassed.

"This is it." A tiny gasp escaped her cold lips as Ulquiorra stopped and she hit her head off his back.

"Ow!" She clutched her forehead in her hands and angrily pushed past Ulquiorra to stand in front of a huge pair of black doors. "I _really _wish people would stop doing that to me!"

"I will wait here for you."

Suddenly, she felt a strong hand shove her forwards, and she stumbled over the threshold into a dimly lit room. The door swung shut behind her, leaving her alone in the creepy room.

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**Tadaaaa :| im not that satisfied...but oh well :) review please :) Grimmjow will give you sexxy hugs (;**


	5. Chapter 5

**2nd Part of Double Update :) please reviewwwww xD

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"Enter." Aizen called from another room just off the main antechamber Adalia was standing in. She tentatively stepped forwards, her hands shaking slightly.

What on earth could Aizen want with _her _of all people? Fake sunlight from the dome filtered softly through the windows lining the walls of Aizen's chambers.

_"He's done well for himself, considering the conditions some of __**us **__are left living in." _Briefly, she flashed back to her time just after she been turned into an arrancar. Not even a numeros, she had spent all of her time just trying to stay alive, hiding in the shadows of the Lessa, keeping out of sight, fighting only when she had to, and eventually working her way up to Arrancar 100, and into the numeros palace. Her ascension was more thanks to the constant fighting among numeros rather than her ability to fight.

"Aizen-sama." She sank to her knees and let her forehead touch the floor. "You wanted to see me?"

"Rise." He commanded, and Adalia slowly stood, allowing herself a quick glance around the room.

Aizen was sitting rather lazily in a large armchair in front of a strange, thin cylinder that rose up from the floor. Hovering just above the end of the cylinder was a small black sphere. The rest of the room was white, just like everything else in Las Noches, and sparsely furnished, with a strange looking object in one corner and a fancy red carpet on the floor.

The black sphere was giving off an incredibly strong aura. It felt heavy, dense...like somebody was smothering her with a blanket. A strange sense of foreboding stole through her, and she knew at that instant, that the orb was dangerous.

"Adalia...this is the Hogyoku." He looked at her and gave her one of his small smiles. "It is what I use to create the arrancar. Can you sense its power?"

Adalia nodded with wide eyes. She was sure that she'd _never _some into contact with the dark power of this object...but...had it created her?

"I am disappointed with Grimmjow. He disobeyed a direct order from me, and left Las Noches." Murmured Aizen while lovingly stroking the Hogyoku, sparks flying between it and his fingertips.

"My Lord, Aizen!" Adalia fell to the floor in a bow again. "It is my fault! I convinced the other fraccion to go Hollow baiting with me and Grimmjow-sama only left to bring us back!"

Aizen watched her, his face expressionless.

"Please!" She cried, raising her face up to look straight at him. "I take all of the blame...all of it! Punish me, not Grimmjow-sama. Its my fault."

"Very well." He murmured. Adalia stiffened, but when Aizen did not elaborate, she lowered her face to stare at the carpet. It was incredibly soft on her bare feet. Compared to the sand of Hueco Mundo, and the cold stone of Las Noches, she couldn't remember anything so soft.

"I hear you've been training?" Aizen said with another one of his strange smiles. "Too bad it isn't working...What if I told you, that by absorbing power from the Hogyoku, you could achieve your release state instantly, and gain incredible power?" He smirked. "I will let you, if you wish to become powerful. An Espada."

Adalia's eyes widened once more. They flickered back and forth between her own clenched fists and the shuddering power of the Hogyoku.

"I'm sorry, Aizen-sama." She straightened her back. "But if I cannot attain my release form with hard work, then it isn't worth trying to attain in the first place." With a small nod, she took a step back. "I am need elsewhere. May I leave?"

For a moment, Aizen stared at her, then nodded.

"Leave me."

Backing out of the room, Adalia felt her quick heart slowing, her hands relaxing. She was somehow still alive. As soon as she was out of Aizen's sight, she darted to the doors and practically flew through them, breathing hard.

As promised, Ulquiorra was waiting, leaning almost casually on the wall. He had his usual cold expression, but she must have caught him unawares, for he immediately straightened and started walking stiffly back the way they had come, albeit very coolly.

"Were you not expecting me?" Adalia asked after a few minutes of intense silence.

"Your reiatsu is so insignificant I barely noticed when you came hurtling out of the door." Was his frigid explanation.

"Oh..." Whispered Adalia, chagrined. She closed her eyes tightly, concentrating, and then giggled loudly. "Grimmjow-sama is pacing in his room! I'd better go make sure he's okay."

She opened her eyes and saw that Ulquiorra's face looked slightly pained. There! A hallway she recognized!

"Thank you for escorting me, Ulquiorra-san!" She giggled and waved her fingers at him. "I can find my way back on my own now!"

Without another moments hesitation, she turned and ran down the hallway as fast as she could. Grimmjow felt angry. Just as she turned the corner, Adalia looked back, and was startled to see Ulquiorra standing there, contemplating her as if deep in thought. She waved once again and disappeared into the depths of Las Noches.

* * *

"FUCK!" Yelled Grimmjow angrily, turning on his heel and slamming a fist into the wall. A good portion crumbled into dust...he must not have hit it that hard.

"Calm down!" Retorted Adalia comically, rolling around on Grimmjow's bed and giggling. "You'll get gray hair like Barragan!"

At that, Grimmjow let out a barking laugh, and turned to look at her with a grim smirk on his face.

"There won't be any meeting for two days...I asked around. Apparently Aizen is taking a break to relieve _stress_." He growled low in his throat.

"As if he has any!" Exclaimed Adalia with a frown on her face. "He's up in his room right now trying to get power from that Hogyoku thing! He wanted me to touch it, but-"

All of a sudden, Adalia was on her back, her arms pinned above her head by one of Grimmjow's hands, his strong legs straddling her stomach. With the dangerous look of a hunter that had just been attacked by his own prey covering his face, Grimmjow leaned over her and glared.

"**What did you do?**" He shook her and pressed his free hand into her side. Adalia could only stare up at him. She had never heard his voice that...furious... "Goddammit, Adalia...speak!" Her mouth fell open.

"I-I refused him!" She stammered. "It felt so evil I-...I couldn't touch it!"

Atop her, Grimmjow relaxed, his angry grimace disappeared. Then, he let his head droop.

"Good. That Hogyoku is _raw _power...Everything Aizen wants. If he wanted you to touch it, it can't mean anything good."

"Grimmjow-sama?" Adalia wiggled violently underneath him. "You're squishing me!" Sure enough, her face was turning a bit blue...With a smirk, Grimmjow eased himself up onto his knees, but didn't otherwise move.

"Don't." He said huskily, and Adalia realized just how close they were. She closed her eyes embarrassedly when she felt the hot flush cross her cheeks.

"Don't _what_?" She cried out, trying to wiggled out from under him. He held her down gently, but firmly. Then, his grip slackened.

"Don't look at me like that." His voice was a strained, husky whisper. Before, Adalia could blink, he had used his sonido. He was gone. Static was still crackling in her ears from the sonido as she closed her eyes and closed her hands into fists, squeezing them until her palms bled. A hot tear rolled down her face.

"I'm scared." She whispered, visions flashing behind her eyelids faster and faster until they were nothing but a blur of color and pain. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

She curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth and repeated the words over and over again. Her breath caught in her throat and she made a strange pained noise, still choking out the words.

"Don't." Murmured the voice that haunted her, and suddenly she was held. Warmth encased her, but the blurred visions didn't stop. Suddenly, she couldn't control herself. Letting out an agonized wail, she fell into the arms that held her and sobbed. The arms held her tightly as the crying racked her body, rocking her ever so slightly, and when the tears had run out, he stayed...just holding her.

"Be strong." He whispered. "I know it hurts...but you have to be strong." Letting her wrap her arms around his neck and huddle there, Grimmjow's eyes were covered my his messy blue bangs, his thoughts raging. He had gone somewhere...hazy...far away...painful. His hollow hole was burning like a flame.

"I'm sorry!" Adalia whispered, almost sounding as if she couldn't feel him there. "I'm sorry, sorry, sorry!" Yes...she was alone...wherever she was...He simply tightened his grip on her and closed his blue eyes.

"I won't let go." He promised quietly; and after a few minutes, Adalia quieted and drifted into a deep sleep, with him keeping a dark and brooding vigil the entire night.

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**Grimmjow will give you sexxy hugs if you review! xD :)**


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